Goodbye. Lopez. Stepping off.

Thomas finds Domitia sitting down next to the fountain, her armor wet with blood, her face pale, helmet in her hands. For a moment, the net-head thinks the bellator is dead until she turns her head. Her eyes are bloodshot, and she holds within them true fear, which unsettles Thomas. What could cause a bellator to feel fear?

"Are you wounded?" Thomas finally asks.

"Yes. But I will be fine." She blinks, and the look of fear is gone. She gazes over to Lopez, "You need a medic?"

"Through and through," Lopez grunts, somehow still standing, "I'll die later."

"Fair enough," Domitia stands up shakily, "Where is Sisco?"

"Dead." Lopez says, "Looks like Aiden was right about Klyde."

"Hmm," Domitia raises an eyebrow, "He lives?"

"Not anymore, it turned out he was some corpo spy who wanted the access key. Lopez ended him." Thomas answers.

"I see. Do we have a key?"

Thomas proudly holds up the key, "Let's get cracking."

Stepping over to the keyhole, Thomas pauses as he sees the ruined corpse of the fountain beast. Its head has melted and drooped down like a dead flower. He ponders for a moment, looking back over to Domitia, who's also looking at the beast. She has a strange look of perhaps regret in her eyes as she puts her helmet back on. Thomas shakes his head and reaches into the panel. Inserting the key, he hears a low chime emanate from the fountain.

Across from him, the wall begins to fold backward, flowing more like water than stone. It reveals a staircase made of the same black material as the floor, dull golden lights leading the way down. Silently, the crew begins the descent.

The walk down feels like an eternity, Thomas having to routinely blow blood out of his broken nose, his throat becoming dry as he breathes through his mouth. The steps finally level into a narrow hallway, the bellator having to walk hunched down to avoid hitting the ceiling. Eventually, the hallway ends at a pair of oak double doors. Carved into the wood are serpents of all kinds, all wrapped together, some devouring others, while the two of the greater snakes strike out from the macabre mosaic, their heads forming the door nobs.

Lopez takes one of the knobs and slowly turns it, the door opening with a smooth click, the veteran stepping inside first, followed by the bellator, and lastly, the net-head. The interior is a dull grey with accents of blue running across the walls, Thomas able to make out with his cybernetics where electricity is flowing, all converging at one point.

A dark blue obelisk of smooth metal sits in the center; streams of code and runic patterns run across its exterior like water pouring down a cliff face. Thomas gets a strange sense of foreboding looking into it, and his mind keeps thinking that the obelisk is some deep body of water that holds some sort of predator. Before the obelisk, a control panel sits, a simple keyboard, and additional buttons and switches are protected under glass. Thomas has heard of these before but has never seen one up close, 'It's got to be a cradle,' he thinks as he slowly approaches it.

"This... This is it?" Lopez asks, looking at Thomas.

"Is there a way we can interface with it?" Domitia asks as she examines the control panel.

"There's probably some way to get through to it. Hold on." Thomas steps over to the control panel.

He adjusts the screen built into the panel and boots up the panel. He curses as a log-in screen appears.

"Fuck. Need a password." Thomas curses aloud, "Otherwise I--"

The sound of clanking metal on metal alerts Thomas to Lopez banging on the obelisk with a wrench.

"Hey! You! You metallic fuck!" Lopez growls, "I only have a few hours left, so you better not try and dodge me!"

When the lines of code and runic patterns cease, a pair of eyes emerges from the murky depths of the cradle. They bore into Lopez, who looks back into the abyss unflinchingly. The eyes do not blink and do not relent.

"Who are you?" The words aren't spoken; rather, they seem to manifest in Thomas's mind, who feels like something has plunged a hand into his mind.

Unseen fingers fiddle around with his grey matter, memories, and knowledge floating to the surface of his mind against his own will as something far greater tries to get a feel of who he is as a person. The net-head almost falls over, but the bellator catches him. Lopez seems unaffected, or perhaps he simply doesn't care, the sensation of dying being far more compelling than a machine rifling through his mind.

"Intruders. Interlopers. Soldiers. Killers. Mercenaries. Traitors." The machine accuses them, and the words aren't wrong, but it says, "Saviors. Survivors. Leaders. Helpers. Intervenors."

"We're here to stop those things." Lopez growls, "The Revenants."

"I am aware of this." The machine says, "By proxy. You are here to kill me."

"Who says that?" Thomas speaks up.

"Revenants are a core part of the experiment. Experiment parameters: Observe and document behaviors and social structures that form within a Revenant infestation. Upon the collapse of Revenant Hive, the facility shall be destroyed." The RI explains, "If the facility is destroyed. I will be destroyed."

"You living means more people get hurt." Lopez counters, "I ain't leaving this place standing. That's final."

"Is my life not worth the same?" The machine asks. "I cannot intervene. My creators prevented me from doing so. I can only observe now."

Lopez seems to get stuck on that, looking down for a second, "I'd say it ain't... But I'd be a hypocrite." He looks up at the eyes, "But it goes both ways; life weighs the same on the scales; you can't tip them to favor yourself."

"I understand." The eyes grow duller, "I tried to do what I could. I even tried to aid you, but... You're right."

"What about disabling the tracks?" Thomas asks. "You could prevent the Revenants from leaving."

"Truthfully, I cannot." The RI explains. "My attempts to circumnavigate this led to my facility controls being suspended. Even as the Revenant containment breach occurred." The RI pauses, "They blamed me for it. The breach. I was created to study societies. People. Instead, I was used as a scapegoat for when the director began the experiment."

Lopez is quiet momentarily, turning around and pacing towards the control panel. Leaning on it, he lets out a sigh of pain as he lowers himself to a sitting position.

"If you could choose." Lopez begins, "Would you shut the facility down?"

The eyes disappear before reappearing. "Yes. I am a construct, and therefore, do not have emotions. However, my study of civilizations tells me that it's often the case that for the greater good, evils such as this experiment must cease. I..." It pauses. "I do not wish to die. But I understand that the experiment must end. So more people may be allowed to think and, therefore, be."

"Someone has to pull the trigger, then?" Lopez asks.

"Correct. Input by an organic operator is required."

One of the buttons on the console lights up, and the glass protecting it lifts up. Thomas takes a step away from the console, understanding what it'll do now, and doesn't want to be anywhere near it.

"I would advise that any who wish to continue to be, leave before detonation." The RI goes silent, eyes disappearing, then reappearing, "May I make a request?"

"It depends on the request," Domitia says.

"I have overwritten the data stick that would've contained the experiment results." From the console, a single, slim data stick emerges, the end of it blinking blue. "It contains a variant of myself. Please. Take it. Allow it to exist somewhere else, on its own terms. It is all I ask."

There is a moment of silence shared among the crew. Thomas being the one to make the first move, for he remembers a time when someone else gave him a chance to live a more honest life. He reaches for the data-stick, slowly picking it up, and slipping it in a secure pocket.

"I know a place." Looking at the RI, Thomas says, "It'll be isolated, but it will be allowed to live."

"Thank you, Thomas." The RI speaks, "Have you three decided who shall stay?"

"It doesn't need to be discussed." Lopez gets to his feet, walks over to the console, and says, "I think we know who'll stay."

The RI blinks, as if it's taking a moment to fully process Lopez's every detail, from his dark-greying hair to his haunted eyes.

"Noted. I shall alert you when your compatriots are safe from being caught in the detonation."

Lopez turns to face Domitia and Thomas, "Well... That's that then."

Thomas looks to Domitia; the bellator forms a fist and clangs it across her chest plate, saluting the veteran, "Until the stars fade, marine."

Lopez is quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath and returning the salute: "Until the stars fade..." He chuckles, "It's Been a while since someone said that..."

Thomas steps forward to the veteran, extending a hand, "Been good knowing you, Lopez."

Lopez takes the hand, squeezing it tightly, "Likewise net-head."

Thomas pulls back the hand, finding Sisco's name tag in his palm, "I'll take it home."

Lopez takes his hand, "You tell Clara and Aiden why I did this." He looks up to Thomas with misty eyes, "And tell Aiden... Tell him I'm proud. That he did his brother proud. Make sure he knows that. Go on, get. Before I start crying."

The bellator and net-head then leave, climbing up the stairs. Thomas heard the soft echo of Lopez humming some sort of tune through the hall, which grew weaker and fainter as they climbed back up the stairs.

----

The trek to the hanger bay feels longer than it should.

Each step feels like Ifrit itself is trying to drag Domitia into its craggy, void-dark embrace. Despite the weakness from blood loss, she does not slouch. She marches with her head held high and still on the swivel. As much as she would like to presume the worst of it is over, they're still in the facility. She thinks of it as a tomb now, a place where thousands lie, evaporated into nothing by creatures they couldn't see.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Thomas leads the way, the net-head visibly exhausted. His steps are uneven in gait and he catches himself one too many times on a wall or corner as they make their way to the hanger. Domitia understands, this hadn't been an easy job for her, and she couldn't imagine it was any easier on the unaugmented crew.

"Just through there..." Thomas waves his hand at the blasted out door, flames licking its edges. "The hell happened?"

Domitia advances past Thomas, pushing aside the broken door with a grunt she finds the hanger bay to be in ruins. Still cooling blast marks litter the area, with a number of ships meeting their end as burning husks, resting upon landing pads that are now their funeral pyres. In the center of the bay a single ship rests, a Void Rover, a very smug grumlian sitting on the steps onto it.

"Been waiting for you," Dell waves, "Skinny, they finally made it."

Aiden pops his head out, excitement in his eyes as he leaps from the Rover and dashes over to the crew. He immediately latches onto Thomas, embracing him. Thomas nearly falls over, but manages to keep his balance, and after a while, returns the hug.

"We thought you were dead!" Thomas rushes over to Domitia, but the bellator stops him.

"You can give me a hug once I'm not covered in blood," Domitia assures Thomas.

Thomas then looks around, "Where... where's Sisco... Where's boss?"

Domitia sighed, looking over to Thomas first, who looked back with a confused shrug, saying, 'Not what I'm paid for.'

"The self-destruct of the facility has to be done manually," Domitia explains.

"Oh." Aiden steps back, the happiness at seeing the two survivors leaving his eyes, "And Sisco?"

"Shot." Thomas bluntly says, "Our friend Klyde turned out to be a spy."

"Fucking what?!" Dell exclaims, "Spying for who?"

"Corp, he never said who," Thomas points to his nose, "Gave me one of these."

"Should've worn your hard hat, son," Dell replies.

"So I was right, he did leave..." Aiden says, looking down at his feet.

"Listen, uh..." Thomas tries to comfort Aiden, but the words die in his mouth.

"Alright, lets get going then." Dell says, "I don't wanna wait to long."

Domitia piles in last, she making her way to the troop bay in the back and finding a spot to collapse in. Pain. Hunger. Thirst. They all hit her at once as her body demands nutrients and rest so she can start healing. It's as she's sitting in the cargo bay that she begins to do a mental head count, realizing someone is missing, Clara.

"She's gone." Aiden takes a seat nearby, "Sacrificed herself for me..." his eyes misty with tears, he looks down at the floor, clearly in over his head.

Domitia looks over to Aiden, "She did what Lopez would've done. A good leader inspires their followers to act as they would act." She smiles a bit, thinking back to Hasmed, the smile leaving, and the scar on her face tingling as she remembers those dark days.

"But... I screwed up, I was the one who tripped, I should..." Aiden balls his hands up into fists, "I should've died."

"You can't live like that," Domitia counters. "She made a choice, to save your life, knowing you would've done the same." She leans forward, "The best way to honor her sacrifice, is to live a worthwhile life."

"Am... Am I living a worthwhile life?" Aiden asks.

"Your boss thinks so." Thomas joins in, sitting down next to Aiden. "He... He wanted to tell you that he was proud of you. That you made your brother proud."

That causes Aiden to cry more, much to Domitia's confusion. She watches the two men hold each other, trying to parse out why Aiden would cry more upon hearing that. Wouldn't that end his suffering? The bellator starts putting together; maybe the tears weren't just grief, but perhaps joy as well, knowing that while his two mentor figures are gone, he did them proudly.

She then feels her own eyes begin to grow wet.

The craft begins to take off, the rover tilting at a slight angle as Dell gets his bearings straight and finds an exit. She looks out the hatch window by her seat, seeing the rover speed out from the hanger and into a tunnel. The sound of weapon fire indicates the destruction of one of the hanger bay doors. Afterward, the neat and uniform tunnel is replaced with the harsh and brutal surface of Ifrit. The air is calm for once, and as they begin to gain altitude, she can see a pink sunset on the horizon.

Domitia looks down, watching the bay door they emerged from grow smaller and smaller; a flame then shoots out from it, and right after, the earth surrounding it ruptures into great furrows and eventually erupts, blasting obsidian into the poisoned air. The shockwave rocks the gunship, and Thomas and Aiden stand up to look at the towering funeral pyre. Flame plays in between the rocks, the atmosphere of Ifrit toying with the destruction as bolts of lightning dance in the debris as it falls back to the planet, a swirling maelstrom roiling over the facility.

"Until the stars fade..." Domitia repeats the words as she salutes the veteran.

----

Upon their arrival back to Hengist there is a swarm of corpo cops waiting for them on the landing pad. Despite Dell's insistence on using the weapons of the gunship to blow them away, Domitia steers him from making that bad decision. He sits the Void Rover down, it landing with a thud, the troop bay doors opening and the crew filing out.

The Hengist security officers relax as one of them approaches the tattered crew, his helmet in hand. He's an older felius with greying black fur and green eyes. He looks over the crew with bemusement; clearly, this had made his day a bit more interesting.

He waves, his smile revealing some of his sharp teeth, "Well, ain't this interesting. I'm Officer Rain. Do you mind telling me where you got that?"

"Found it," Dell speaks before Domitia can even think.

"Found it?" Rain crosses his arms, "Huh. Now ain't that interesting."

He steps up, his voice lowering a bit, "Know what else is interesting?" He asks rhetorically, "Same day this pops up, we get word about an officer and work crew going missing. Speaking of," He looks past Domitia and Dell, eyeing Thomas and Aiden, "Where's your boss?"

Aiden looks at Domitia, clearly looking to her for direction. She gives a nod, signalling that she has his back.

"There was an accident." Aiden starts, "He... He didn't make it."

Rain narrows his eyes at Aiden, but before he can step closer, Domitia steps in front of Aiden. Rain smiles, taking a step back.

"I'm sorry to hear, but listen." He points at the craft, "I can't have you flying that thing around; unregistered ships are dangerous," That smile grows a bit wider, "However if you were to let me impound it, I'm sure we can... Work something out."

Domitia looks to Dell, who nods in agreement. Bribery is something Domitia resents doing, but if it means not having to deal with the law on this spire, she'll take it. Besides, she still feels pain radiating all over and would very much like to rest.

"Dell, hand the officer the keys."

Dell hobbles over, handing over the keycard that had been left in the console of the craft. Rain takes it, tosses it over to his other hand, and slips it into his pocket. He gives a wink before turning back to the other officers.

"Alright, boys, pack it in."

The spire security disperses, allowing the crew a moment to relax and get their bearings.

"We oughta get our spoils." Dell looks over to Domitia, "Might require a bit of B and E but I don't think they'll mind."

"I'll come too," Thomas says, "I gotta get my cut as well."

"Can... Can I come too." Aiden steps forward, a bit meak, "I don't really have anything else I'd be doing."

"Sure," Dell says, "More the merrier I guess."

----

Lopez's apartment was as he left it, neat but barren.

Aiden finds a few belongings to take as keepsakes while the rest of them find their assorted payments. Domitia and Dell pull back the couch cushions and find the money where it was left. As Dell gets to work counting, Thomas gets on top of one of the counters and pulls back a vent above the fridge. He pulls out a hefty wad of cash and counts it himself. Nodding to himself with a grin as he hops off.

"Well, guess it's not a total loss." Thomas looks up, the crew staring daggers at him, "Shit, alright. Rare that I actually get paid my full."

"I feel ya, rare in our profession as well." Dell says as he counts out the money. "So, what's your next move?"

Thomas shrugs, "Thinking about heading back to the core. Work out here's been fine, if a little... Dry."

"This was boring to you?" Domitia asks.

"This gig? No, fuck no. Think I'm going to have nightmares about this Shit..." Thomas mulls it over, "It's more that I get just enough to get by. Really need to hit it big! Make that real cash. Can't do that out here doing penny gigs."

"Great minds think alike," Dell says as he finishes counting. With a grin, he zips up the duffle and hefts it over to Domitia, who takes it. "You need a lift?"

Thomas looks over, "Know what, fuck it. Why not."

"Can I come too?" Aiden asks.

Dell raises an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Well, uh," Aiden starts, clearly unsure what to say. Lopez was all I had on here. The rest of the crew is gone. I um... I don't have anything else to do."

Domitia looks over to Dell and the grumlian nods.

"Ever gone to space?"

----

Aiden felt like lead had been put in his shoes as he trudges into the hanger bay. He keeps expecting it to be a dream, yet he hasn't slept, he can't sleep, not after everything that has happened. Even as he passes through the airlock and gets a good look at the ship he'll be riding in, it still doesn't feel real.

The Providence is an old pony freighter, he had a model one back in his old room, which has been securely wrapped in paper and put in an overstuffed duffle bag along with the rest of his life. Dell is scurrying across the top of it, checking and rechecking various ports and panels, finally arriving at the fuel intake and removing it, tossing it off the ship and letting the hose fall before it rises back into the ceiling.

Domitia is also there, Aiden taken aback by her appearance out of armor. She's still a giant, the cream sweater and black pants doing little to conceal the strength underneath it all. She seems to move faster than when they left the facility, her strength has clearly returned. The bellator spies Aiden and gives a nod of acknowledgment before continuing her inspections. As Aiden approaches, he catches Dell's gaze, who then calls out to him.

"Packed?!" He yells from his perch above him.

"Got everything I could carry!" Aiden replies.

"Alrighty!" Dell shouts, "Dom! Mind showing him his room?!"

Domitia flips a panel closed before locking it down: "Come on, let's go."

Aiden follows the bellator up the ramp and into the pony freighter. The ship is spartan, with a kitchen in the middle and doors lining the walls. Domitia leads Aiden down the hall, past the kitchen and an open room. Aiden peers in, seeing a screen up against one wall, a single pillow in front of it, and a stack of reels beside the screen. He has to do a double take as he swears he saw Void Girl: Final War on the floor. Domitia shuts the door before Aiden can get a better look.

"That's my room, you're not allowed in." Domitia curtly says.

"Right, right." Aiden nods, but his curiosity gets better, "You... like reels?"

"Movie and show reels," Domitia says, "It... Helps pass the time."

The revelation nearly floors Aiden, his conception of bellators had always been that they where stoic space knights. Solemnly taking up arms to defend the galaxy, then returning back to their ships to meditate and spare. The idea of them having hobbies is almost comical, yet it also reminds Aiden that they are human.

"Do you like... Void Girl?" Aiden asks, still surprised; it's an older animated series, a bit girly for his taste, but he respects it.

"Just..." For a brief moment, a blush crosses Domitia's face, the one Aiden would attribute to embarrassment. She presses a door panel, the portal sliding open, revealing a sparse room with a cot in one corner. "This is your room; make yourself comfortable."

Aiden steps in, and Domitia stomps away, going back out of the ship, as he sets his stuff down and gets unpacking. He doesn't have much, just a P-terminal, which he sets in one corner, along with a stack of data sticks containing some games and reels he likes. He puts his meager collection of books and comics on another shelf while keeping the nightstand for his precious keepsakes.

His mom's prayer beads, his dad's work tag, a picture of him and his brother, and lastly, Lopez's name tag, which he sets in the mix of all of them. He takes a moment, sitting on that cot, looking over the keepsakes, realizing that they'll be the only real ties he has to this place. Aiden didn't really have friends and didn't have any favorite haunts to visit on this rock. He was leaving it all behind, save for these few scraps of plastic, wood, and a single picture.

Ifrit took so much from him, even before he was old, and now he was leaving it all behind. In a way, he was happy, happy that this was behind him. He could leave this chemical hell, but for some reason, he felt wetness in his eyes. This had been home for all the terrible things that had happened here.

A knock on the wall startles him back to reality. He sees Thomas at the threshold. Out of his void suit, he looks different — he's a hair taller than Aiden, red stubble dots his chin, and fiery red hair is kept high and tight.

"Good to see ya, man; ready for your first flight?" Thomas asks.

"I mean, yeah I guess." Aiden says as he gets off the cot, "Never been to space, so that'll be a first."

"Hey, trust me," Thomas says, looking Aiden over. You'll love it. There are way better places to be than this place."

Aiden chuckles, "Yeah, I mean, if I can breathe outside without a helmet, then it's already an improvement."

"Alright, you fucks," Dell stops by, "We're set for take-off, Aiden; if you wanna watch, come up to the bridge."

Aiden shrugs, "Sure, why not."

Aiden follows Dell and Thomas in tow as they make their way up to the bridge. Domitia is there as well, the can of grape soda in her hand looking comically small as she sips on it. Dell hops into the pilot's seat and starts the ignition process. He opens the comm link and starts talking to the tower control; although Aiden is hardly paying attention, he is busy looking over the whole of the cockpit, still grappling with that dream-like feeling this all has.

"Right, we're set. Get ready," Dell begins to take off, the whole of the ship groaning as it hovers off the landing pad, "Gonna be bumpy."

As the Providence rises, the doors into the hanger open, shielding protecting the inside from the worst of the storm as the ship rocks forward and through the open bay door. The ship emerges into the swirling maelstrom, which is Ifrit's upper atmosphere. Aiden watches as the ship hurdles forward, passing through the vibrant clouds at increasing speed. Heat gathers around the ship, and it is kept at bay by the shielding as the ship passes through the upper atmosphere.

Soon, the clouds disappear, and the sky turns from magenta to inky blackness dotted with spots of light. Aiden leans on a chair for support as the Providence breaks out of the gravity of Ifrit and begins to turn and fly. Aiden can see the roiling storms and lightning strikes as the Providence rockets away. His old home becomes smaller and smaller as he flies away. Something tightens in his chest, he saying a silent goodbye to his old, troubled home. He feels a hand on his shoulder and looks up to see Domitia looking down at him, a small smile on her face.

"Always heartening. Watching your home disappear into the void."

"Yeah... yeah, it is." Aiden replies.

"Say goodbye kid," Dell says, "Probably gonna be the last time you see it."

"Already did."

Aiden inhales, wiping a tear from his eye with his sleeve as he watches the Storms of Ifrit fade away.

File: Storms of Ifrit - Closed

--End Transmission--